Education PS: No pre-exam remedial tutoring.
The Ministry of Education has issued a warning to principals across the country to refrain from mandating additional remedial classes, pointing out that such programs are in violation of the law.
Principal Secretary of Basic Education Belio Kipsang has voiced concern that certain school administrators are still charging unapproved fees on parents in order to compensate instructors for teaching remedial classes. These fees are meant to compensate teachers for their time.
He questioned the necessity of additional teaching hours under the pretense of remedial education, claiming that the ministry’s suggested teaching hours are sufficient for imparting the essential skills and knowledge for examinations. He was referring to the fact that additional teaching hours were being offered under the guise of remedial education.
Kipsang stressed that remedial teaching and the related fees lay an unnecessary strain on parents and degrade the prestige of such programs. He also stated that such programs have a poor reputation. This warning was delivered on September 19 at Shimo La Tewa Secondary School in Mombasa, during a meeting with education officials and government administrators from the Coast Region.
This warning comes at a time when elementary and secondary schools across the country are getting ready for impending national examinations. Examinations for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) are set to begin on October 30, while examinations for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) are slated to begin on November 3 and continue until November 24.
Kipsang gave his word that the ministry would move forward with the implementation of measures to keep the national examinations’ credibility intact. In addition, he urged teachers to win back the confidence of the public by administering this year’s national exams with honesty and staying vigilant against any type of dishonesty. This would improve the legitimacy, validity, and dependability of the examinations.
